The Bookstore of the Future

I sat up in bed the other night* and said to Jacob, "I've got a great idea for my future bookstore!" Yes, I entertain fantasies about owning and working in bookstores. I also dream about being a librarian. (When I'm in a different mood I want to be an author, an editor, or a publicist.)

*I probably didn't actually sit up. It was probably more like this.

Perhaps you've noticed that lots of bookstores have closed in the last little while, due to a confluence of factors including economic downturn, the advance of ebooks, and so forth. I saw an article a while back about how libraries could begin selling books and I thought, why not turn that on its head?

So. The bookstore of the future! It sells the following:

• new books 
• used books 
• print books 
• digital books
• and is also a lending library! 

The library part, in my proposed incarnation of this idea, would be less like a video store and more like online media streaming (think Netflix, Audible), in the sense that you pay a monthly fee and there are no late fees. It will be awesome!! And if you check out a book and you like it and you just want to keep it, then you can buy it and you never have to turn it in! Yay! Plus also our awesome bookstore will have a big room for author events and such.

Granted, I'm almost certainly not the first person to think of this idea. Do you know of a bookstore that does this? I'd love to hear about it. All of my entrepreneur friends, feel free to crib this idea -- it is the bookstore of the future! Besides, I can't use it quite yet. So, you guys go ahead and get on it and set the precedent for me, ok? ;)

Discuss!

Dangerous

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Like I said, I've been looking forward to this book for a while. (Though that post only touches on the tail end of the wait; I first heard Shannon talk about it in 2009!) I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint.

It is a contemporary, YA, sci-fi, superhero book. And, even though I knew that, I didn't internalize the fact that it's setting is the present day until I started reading it and realized it isn't dystopian. All the other YA sci-fi I've read lately (including The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Steelheart) is dystopian! Dangerous not Dystopian!? Whut??

Dangerous is the story of Maisie Brown, told in three parts. Each part of the book is almost like a book unto itself because each has a very distinct feel from the next.*  Part One brings a rich background into the narrative and imparts the sense of normal life -- Maisie is an only child, home schooled, and has a deformed arm. She has a best friend, Luther, and he is going to miss her horribly while she is off at astronaut summer camp (and off meeting one cute guy in particular). Here in the first section, the superpower stuff starts being revealed and explored and then everything goes horribly wrong. In Part Two, Maisie lives a crazy nightmare sort of life, hunted, hunting, fighting for survival. And Part Three? Well, that's the part where we have to save the world, of course! It was SO nice not to have to wait for these three parts to come out separately (contented sigh).

This book has it all -- memorable characters, humor, suspense, science, superpowers, fast paced action (lighter on violence than the dystopian novels above), and well-developed romance.

Let's talk about that well-done romance for a sec: The last book I read where the romance was both as chaste and as thoroughly explored as it is in Dangerous was . . . Jane Eyre!  The romance follows a refreshing arc, rather than busting in early on and flat-lining through the book. And, SuperBonus, we get the answer to that question we sometimes ask when a book is narrated in the first person by a narrator who isn't completely narcissistic/believes herself to be largely unremarkable: "Why would he even go for her?"

Ah, such a good book! I think I was literally biting my nails at one point. And I kept reading just-one-more-chapter as the book progressed.

Just talking about it makes me want to read it again. :)
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* As many of you know, Shannon Hale is my favorite living author, and you won't be surprised when I say I follow her on twitter. Now, this is a rumor because I'm totally too lazy to see if I can track it down, but I remember her saying something on twitter like, "Oops, my book just turned into a trilogy," and then later, "ok we're back to one book." Well, if I'm remembering right and if this is the book she was referring to, it makes sense to me.
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Barnes & Noble

Ballad

We got our books! Yay! But while I was waiting I couldn't help reading something else. 

Ballad by Blexbolex

This is such an interesting little book. I picked it up at the library knowing nothing about it and brought it home with me. It is small, about as tall as my hand is long, but it is thick and the illustrations are fascinating. The text is spare, and a brief explanation begins the book:

"This story is about a child who goes home from school along the same road every day and how his small world suddenly becomes enormous.

It's a story as old as the world a story that begins all over again each day."

Thereafter the book is mostly illustration, with one word on each page. The same basic journey is depicted several times, but each time more illustrations, words, and layers of detail are added. Reading the summary on Goodreads, I found out that the story is told 7 times, and each time the number of images doubles. So the first pass is just beginning, middle, end. The second pass at the story has six pictures, and so on and so forth. I  mean, I knew that was sort of happening but I hadn't put my finger on the doubling thing.

Reading Ballad is kind of like watching a silent film: it requires more effort from you and more close engagement with the visual medium than the typical graphic novel experience (which might be like watching a typical movie).  A word draws your attention to something specific on the page, and the story is largely left up to your imagination. For instance, we're walking along, going home from school, if we believe the introduction above, and then all of a sudden there are bandits! Bandits?! How did they get there? Are they the comical type or the nefarious kind? We sort of get to decide these things. Some things are decided for us as the story progresses.

It was interesting trying to read this with Levi, my 3-year-old. (I haven't tried it on Benjamin yet.) I found it absolutely impossible not to elaborate on the text, because that is what my mind was doing. He and I read it about halfway through before he moved on to something else, and I came back and re-read and finished it later.  

The art is totally awesome. It's characterized by flat, blocky shapes but turns out to be progressively complex and deceptively detailed.

Aha! Jacob has read it while I was writing this. It was so fun to listen to his exclamations. His final thought: "It does a good job of setting things up, making you wonder where it could even go, and then subverting your expectations quite drastically. I like it!"

Waiting for a pre-order: Dangerous

Do you know what is killing me right now? Waiting for Dangerous by Shannon Hale to arrive in my mailbox! I have found that pre-ordering a book is sometimes NOT the fastest way to get it.

This happened to Jacob and I with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We were on vacation (a family reunion in Michigan) when the book was released and subsequently delivered to our doorstep (in Utah). My brother, who was living upstairs of us at the time, got a hold of me and was like, "Hey . . . Can I open this package that looks a lot like the last Harry Potter book and read it?" To which we said, "Yes, of course!" And we saw copies of Deathly Hallows everywhere we went in Michigan and just decided (tough though it was) to wait until we got home to the copy we already bought. Thankfully, we had brought along some good vacation reading: The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman if I remember correctly.

Anyway, we pre-ordered knowing full well that pre-ordered books are sometimes delayed if they are part of a larger order (or, the rest of the order is sometimes delayed!).  But this time Jacob and I ordered only two books that released on the same day -- Dangerous by Shannon Hale and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (the sequel to The Way of Kings). We thought that since they came out the same day it would be smooth sailing, but no. Release day came and went without a shipping notification (Jacob updating me on the shipping status of our books frequently, since he is dying to read his book. It is HUGE and has so many chapters that several "teaser chapters" etc. have been released and now he is just slavering in anticipation.) and when the books didn't ship the next day either Ursula took matters into her own tentacles Jacob called the Barnes and Noble customer service number. He called at night and the next evening he was gearing up to call again when he got the shipping email.

We picked Barnes and Noble because they have actual physical bookstores, unlike Amazon. And we are fans of bookstores. Also it irks me that the "free super saver shipping" minimum has gone up. (Don't even think about telling me to join Prime!) Why did we not pick our local independent bookseller? (We DO have a couple independent bookstores that are much more "local" to us than ever before.) Well, they don't have online shopping, either of them, and let's be honest this was a late-night, just-finished-the-budget, we-should-probably-be-more-responsible, impulse purchase. Like Erasmus said, "When I get a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes."

So, we are waiting for our books. I'm getting more excited for mine, the more I read Shannon Hale's blog posts about it {one, two, three}. I take care not to read too much about a book before I begin it (I usually skip the back cover and the front flap) because too often I've had my eyes opened to a twist or a plot point too soon. Interestingly, though, if I'm currently reading a book and not loving it, sometimes reading the jacket helps me get invested. This was the case with Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

Have you ever not gotten your pre-ordered book soon enough?
Have you ever been horribly spoiled by a book jacket? Which book?
Do you remember where you were when HP&TDH came out?

Talk to me, friends. Because my book isn't here yet. Quick, before I resort to taking more selfies to pass the time.

Update: Here is my review of Dangerous!

Steelheart

In a post-apocalyptic USA, the world is ruled by the superhero class -- the Epics. Chicago's not-so benevolent dictator is Steelheart. He is strong. He can fly. He has legions of super-henchmen. He is impervious to harm, and so his rule might last forever. But our hero happens to be the only person alive who has seen Steelheart bleed.

This was fast paced and fun. Apparently that's what I'm enjoying these days. I read it in single day. This was only possible because it was a snow day (so nobody was goin' nowhere) and Jacob enabled me since he had just finished it himself. :) It is so fun to read books and have a smart, handsome honey to talk about them with.

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I like where it ended. Sanderson is known for great magic systems and awesome plot twits, and didn't disappoint us here.  It was lighter on the romance side than most of the YA dystopian novels I've read, but Sanderson keeps you wondering. If we're comparing it to other YA dystopia, I'd say it is less violent than the Hunger Games, though violence is still inextricable from the plot. You won't find foul language, since today's curse words are obsolete in this version of the future.

My favorite thing about this book is David, the narrator. He is just too much fun to follow along with. He is a total nerd, but he likes to go with his gut and that keeps the plot interesting. Five stars for characters, pacing, and plot. Also the imagery was great, making it easy to visualize everything, including fight scenes which sometimes lose me in other books.

I will definitely read the next book! And thanks, Micah for getting Jacob this one for Christmas. Love ya, bro.

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Edited to add: I've reviewed the second book in this series as well, Firefight. It's also great! And that's saying something because second books, man, they're usually the pits. Anyway, if you'd like to get started on the series (and I think you would) here is an affiliate link to book one, Steelheart! If you shop through this link I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Happy reading!

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdős

This post is sponsored by Grammarly. I use Grammarly's plagiarism check because I want to make sure I've properly cited myself! :)

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdős by Deborah Heiligman, illus. LeUyen Pham

Do you have an Erdős number? Whether or not you do, you're going to love reading this picture book biography of mathematician Paul Erdős.

Heiligman balances detail and overview in the text, making the story accessible to the very young and interesting to readers of all ages. Heiligman chronicles Paul Erdős's life with humor, heart, and perfect pace, and asks the interesting questions: why did his mom let him stay home from school? How did he manage to do so much math? Why did people love him, even though he was a horrible house-guest? How do we benefit from his work, and what can we learn from his life?

LeUyen Pham illustrates with eye-catching color and mind-boggling detail (just read her end-note!). She depicts not only Paul's math friends -- the number line, the hundreds chart, and many more numbers, proofs and so on -- but also the people and scenery which surrounded him from childhood into old age. 

The odds are good that you will love The Boy Who Loved Math.

^ That's what I wrote for the Cybils' blurb of this book. Of all the picture book biographies I read this year (and there were at least two handfuls), this was my favorite. I liked it a lot, but I didn't realize just how much I liked it until a fellow panelist said that she thought a certain subset of our target audience (ages 3-12) would be engaged by it. This is some of  what I said in reply:

I think that more than just a "certain subset" would become totally engaged by The Boy Who Loved Math.

I mean, I think it is a book you could read aloud to a class K-6 and they would be interested and engaged. I haven't tested this personally, but it has lots of good going for it: Bold illustrations that are going to look good from a distance, but are also detailed enough to be interesting to older readers up close (and did you read the illustrator's note?! I had to go back and read the whole book again; it's like the bonus pages in an I Spy book or something. There is so much cool stuff in there!) Plus also the story and language are straightforward -- again, going to appeal to a wide range.

The Boy Who Loved Math nailed all of my personal criteria for assessing the literary merit of PB bios. I want to know:

1. Who was this person?
2. Why were they important when they were alive/in their own context?
3. Why are they important to me now?

All of the PB bios I read did well on questions 1 and 2, but only a handful passed question 3 (some didn't address it until the afterward notes). I think that answering question 3 is crucial for a good bio. The answer doesn't have to be rammed down one's throat, but it's gotta be there, otherwise readers are just like "Well, that was nice. Next!"

From The Boy Who Loved Math, I got (#1) not only Paul Erdős's name but also his personality and it was demonstrated in the pictures (trying to butter toast) and in the text (liked to do math 16 hrs/day). It felt really authentic. [...] 

I got (#2) that he was doing tons of math, original math that was advancing the field, AND that he was collaborating with other mathematicians AND that he was encouraging them to collaborate with others. In what other picture book biography did I learn three things that the subject was important for in their own time?

I got (#3) that he was important to me now because his math is being used in computers and [search engines] ... BUT ALSO I know that Paul Erdős was kind of weird! Like he couldn't do stuff that I can do and I am a kindergartner (butter bread, open milk)! He was smart but he was flawed and I know I'm flawed. And I'm kind of worried about that. But look! People loved him anyway! So this book shows me (without ever forcing it down my throat) that firstly it is okay to be weird and secondly, it is okay to be nice to people who are weird.
So. That's why I think The Boy Who Loved Math will appeal to more than just a certain subset. Because we're all human. 

After I said all that, I knew that I really loved this book. If that hadn't cinched it, then I probably could've figured out that I loved it because I read it aloud to my husband late at night, my kids after school, and I even read it to my mom over the telephone. Yep. Also I ended up taking the author's recommendation and watching the documentary about Erdős' life, N is a Number.

So. Check it out! Buy a copy! Buy copies for your friends! It's a great book.

If you buy from Barnes & Noble or from Amazon I can get a small commission from the sale.

Newest Newbery etc.

So, this morning the newest Newbery Winner was announced! Along with all the rest of the ALA (American Library Association) awards.

Doesn't it look goooood?

The winner is Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures written by Kate DiCamillo. I have not read this yet! But I will get on that because I loved The Tale of Desperaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The Magician's Elephant, all by her.

This book is so awesome!

The winner of the Caldecott Medal is Locomotive by Brian Floca and we all know how much I loved that one! (Tons!)

Fascinating. Plus awesome cut-paper illustrations!

This year I had to peek at the Sibert winners, too, because those are the non-fiction ones and "Sibert" kept coming up in our Cybils panel discussions. It was Parrots Over Puerto Rico -- my boys will be pleased. Occasionally I catch them yelling "Iguaca! Iguaca!" at each other. :)  I was happy to see A Splash of Red on the list of Sibert Honorees as well, that is a favorite of mine and Benjamin's.

I would like to own this book.
Thinking about it makes me sentimental.